Dubstep vs. Jazz: Eerily Similar Genres

Before I get started, allow me to express the following: This is solely an analytical entry about how it might be possible that in 80-90 years dubstep could be considered an experimental genre for our generation. Secondly, I'm not trying to convince anyone that dubstep is the best kind of music out there. It is what it is. Please don't take offense to this post. Thirdly, if you're gonna troll and hate, just GTFO. This is a hub for thought and entertainment, not internet battles and slayings. 

About ninety to a hundred years ago, the United States gave birth to one of the most iconic genres of music ever conceived: Jazz. Today jazz has several subgenres and styles. It's recognized by almost everyone in the world and the names of jazz pioneers are known to us all (well at least the ones among us who are educated enough in music). Among those pioneers are Nat King Cole, Bessie Smith, Dizzie Gillespie, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

Jazz was such an innovative genre at the time that an entire lifestyle began to flourish around it. The young people who listened and performed it dressed in very unique and elaborate fashions. New dances were invented in order to follow the rhythm of the music. The followers of the genre began using new slang and making new expressions to not only describe the music, but also mannerisms and habits they had accepted as part of their lifestyle. These were the famous sheiks and flappers.

Almost a full century later, young people have begun to explore music in the same daring manner that the jazz greats once did. With the advent of technology, musicians of our generation have begun to use computers and elaborate sound editing techniques to create a completely new genre: Dubstep. Dubstep has evolved from different styles of electronic music including jungle, drum and bass, and a few others I can't remember right now.

Much like the jazz greats, musicians in dubstep explore different combinations of arpeggi, ascending and descending bass tones and complex variations in percussive instruments and time signatures. Early jazz was known for combining different musical influences from Latin American and African music. Today, dubstep borrows musical influences from reggae, hip-hop, rap and ambient music. These mixes of musical influences and techniques make dubstep a very invigorating genre, much like jazz from the 1920s. Its musical signature are it's dropped distorted basses and electronic manipulation of chords. Jazz was known for it's quick beats, low bass drums and fast chord progressions.

Typical female dubstep fan. Yes, this is me.

 Jazz is all-American, make no mistake. It began in New Orleans and flourished in the big cities like Chicago and New York City. As is the usual trend throughout American history, there is always something being completely stigmatized and turned into a huge taboo at any given period in American history. During the Jazz Age, it was alcohol. It was illegal and shunned by society. Today, the big taboo centers around marihuana. Most of the fanbase for dubstep has a great acceptance for marihuana and some even use it regularly. Much like jazz whose many songs talked about alcohol, dubstep also has several songs who talk about the effects of marihuana. Both genres tend to embrace substances that are considered dangerous. In addition to this, both genres have a very strong emphasis on sexuality and feature sensual lyrics.

Lastly, fans of dubstep music have also created their own terms in order to describer certain aspects of the music genre or things surrounding the genre. For example, it's very common for someone to refer to a fan of dubstep as a "basshead". Dubstep fans also use the word "dirty" to describe an extreme and super distorted drop in the bass lines during a song. The dirtier the song, the better.

 In conclusion, both genres have many things in common than one would initially would notice. Both have taken American youths by storm. Each has influenced their fanbases to expand on their language and acceptance for musical experimentation. These genres have both centered themselves amongst taboos of their time and have been widely regarded as musical sensations.

OK, now I'm too fucking tired to keep writing and my jaw is locking up again. It's making face hurt. I'll write more about how dubstep is the embodiment of American excesses tomorrow. Thanks for reading!!!